Beslan Ends Mourning Period

BESLAN, Russia -- Tuesday was the 40th day since the hundreds of deaths in the siege of Middle School No. 1, a day observed by religious tradition with vigil, prayer and feast.

It marked a fresh outpouring of pain in a North Ossetian town that lost at least 331 of its residents to a terrorist attack, and it laid bare some of the darker emotions that have been roiled in the weeks since the battle ended in blood and fire.

Beslan passed the day awash in grief, love and tenderness, but some spoke of vengeance, and the school's walls bore graffiti that made frightening threats.

The day opened what likely will be several days of public grief.

By Russian Orthodox tradition, the formal period of mourning ends after 40 days. Some families gathered Tuesday, the 40th day since death. Others plan to observe the 40th day since their loved ones' remains were identified, or the 40th day since they were interred.

At the cemetery, there were hints of lives cut short. Timur Vitalyevich Kozyrev would have turned 9 last week. A plastic toy Jeep was taped to his slat, which stood beside a wooden marker for his mother, Alla, who was 34, and another for his sister, Yelena, 15.

At the school, fresh graffiti has been scrawled along the bullet-riddled walls.

"Who will return our friends to us?" one phrase reads. Another reads, "Peace to Beslan."

But much of the writing is foreboding and dark.

Some writers pledged violence. "Through tears of grief, we say we will avenge this," appears on the auditorium wall. Other writers directed scorn at the regional government, labeling political figures "bandits."

By midafternoon Tuesday, the courtyards fell to a hush, and families proceeded to the grounds where 239 of the victims are interred. A chilly rain began to fall.

Grave after grave became the scene of a brief banquet and a cluster of sobbing families. A Russian Orthodox choir moved from group to grieving group.

Men stood in the mourning tents in the evening and spoke of vengeance, but also said they were unsure where they would direct it.

"If we knew who did this, we would tear them to pieces," Teimuraz Pukhov said. "But we need a concrete person. We don't want to start a civil war."